Hyundai chairman receives slight payment uptick

Chung Mong-koo, the chairman of Hyundai Motor Co, the fifth largest carmaker in the world when considered with affiliate Kia Motors, had his salary increased by 2 percent to 5.72 billion won ($5.2 million) for his 2014 performance.

The year didn’t bring stellar results for the South Korean automaker, as the weaker Russian Ruble and Japanese yen, together with slowing demand in certain regions, all made up for a sluggish financial result. The 7-year-old son of the company’s late founder was also heavily involved in the controversial $10 billion property purchase in 2014 – with the news of buying the prized lot at over three times its appraised value triggering a collapse in the price of the automaker’s share price – a subsequent larger dividend and stock buyback announcement failed to mitigate its effects so far. In a move to appease concerns, the company’s chief executive officer, Kim Choong-ho announced earlier this month that Hyundai was mulling a plan stemming from investor proposals to improve the company’s overall governance.

Chung, which is the chairman of the entire group, also received 11.56 billion won for his performance leading Hyundai Steel Co and 4.29 billion won from components supplier Hyundai Mobis Co Ltd. Hyundai is the only global Asian manufacturer to release full details salaries for its top executives. Previously, Toyota said President Akio Toyoda received for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014, a total of 230 million yen (around $1.92 million) – but the lump sum excluded awarded stock options. Nissan chief executive officer Carlos Ghosn on the other hand received 995 million yen.